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0 pointssfpotter2y ago0 comments

Creating I-5 was really contentious at the time. It destroyed neighborhoods. My family has lived in the area for several generations and my parents can attest to this.

Lidding it would be great, but removing it would be better. There are loads of people who live in the suburbs north and south of Seattle and expect to be able to drive 20-30 miles each way day-in-day-out to commute. If the city continues to grow, this simply isn't tenable in the long run, because you can't grow highway capacity forever; they would no longer be able to do this, which would be good. Just rip the band-aid off.

0 comments

seanmcdirmid2y ago

The only thing worse than having I5 is not having I5. There really isn't enough north-south corridors to replace it (15th, 99, east/west lake...really that's it), given that I5 is close to the water and a huge hill as it comes in across from UW. It is already non-viable to expect a 20-30 minute commute into the city.

We saw what happened when the Palestine supporters blocked off I5 a few weeks ago...on a weekend without a rush hour, people were stuck in traffic for hours.

sfpotterOP2y ago

There are no major highways through Manhattan. The city is better for it.

Drive around the lake if you need to get past the city.

seanmcdirmid2y ago

I used to commute from westchester county into midtown, and there were definitely parkways in, although I never needed to go all the way down to Manhattan itself. I would usually try to take the train though (often not possible given how westchester county is poorly connected to train stations).

Tagbert2y ago

Because 405 is already a a crowded route that becomes bogged down during rush hour(s). Your choices are pretty much sound, city, lake, city, or mountains if you are looking for a route through Seattle.

aidenn02y ago

How do you get from the GW bridge to the Cross-Bronx Expressway if there are no major highways through Manhattan?

mathgeek2y ago

278 also runs through Manhattan. I assume the previous poster really means something that excludes Randalls Island and the Heights.

resonantjacket52y ago

It's actually a bit interesting to see WSDOT's plan for i-5.

For capacity they aren't expanding I-5 directly, but expanding i-405 and sr167 instead for people trying to go past Seattle.

For i-5 within Seattle area, there are some 2030s plans to convert the hov lanes to toll lanes and reconfiguring the reversible express lane system. * I-5 Managed Lanes: SR 16 to Pierce/ King County Line * I-5 Managed Lanes: Pierce/ King County Line to I-405 * I-5 Managed Lanes: I-405 to US 2

https://www.psrc.org/media/4840

seanmcdirmid2y ago

I don't see that working out. I405 is often worse than I5, it is just as bottlenecked as I5 is, and there isn't much room to expand it especially when it runs right up next to the water.

I feel sorry for anyone who has to actually do that commute. It was horrible when I was living in Bothell and attending UW 30 years ago.

resonantjacket52y ago

They are constructing it right now the expansion between bellevue to renton.

https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/i...

The bellevue to lynnwood section was already 'expanded' a decade ago though as one can tell, it still has traffic. They're opting to increase the tolls now.

mc322y ago

I think Boeing threatened to pull out of Seattle if WSDOT did not improve freeways, some years ago -getting stuff in and out of Everett is really important to them. If I-5 was torn down and only left with surface streets, what's left of Boeing would pull out and go to Kansas or some place.

uoaei2y ago

Can you articulate a cogent reason why people need to cross the city on such a thoroughfare just to live their lives?

seanmcdirmid2y ago

You are located in the north of the city and need to get somewhere south of the city, or vice versa.

You only have a few roads to do that east or west of Lake Washington. In most cases, people aren't going to downtown Seattle, downtown Seattle is just in the way.

uoaei2y ago

Why are those services not available in the north of the city? This is as much a planning issue as traffic is.

4 more replies

mitthrowaway22y ago

Because nobody knows how to build a train, it's a mystery.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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seanmcdirmid2y ago

We saw what happened when the Palestine supporters blocked off I5 a few weeks ago...on a weekend without a rush hour, people were stuck in traffic for hours.

sfpotterOP2y ago

There are no major highways through Manhattan. The city is better for it.

Drive around the lake if you need to get past the city.

seanmcdirmid2y ago

Tagbert2y ago

aidenn02y ago

How do you get from the GW bridge to the Cross-Bronx Expressway if there are no major highways through Manhattan?

mathgeek2y ago

278 also runs through Manhattan. I assume the previous poster really means something that excludes Randalls Island and the Heights.

resonantjacket52y ago

It's actually a bit interesting to see WSDOT's plan for i-5.

For capacity they aren't expanding I-5 directly, but expanding i-405 and sr167 instead for people trying to go past Seattle.

https://www.psrc.org/media/4840

seanmcdirmid2y ago

I don't see that working out. I405 is often worse than I5, it is just as bottlenecked as I5 is, and there isn't much room to expand it especially when it runs right up next to the water.

I feel sorry for anyone who has to actually do that commute. It was horrible when I was living in Bothell and attending UW 30 years ago.

resonantjacket52y ago

They are constructing it right now the expansion between bellevue to renton.

https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/i...

The bellevue to lynnwood section was already 'expanded' a decade ago though as one can tell, it still has traffic. They're opting to increase the tolls now.

mc322y ago

uoaei2y ago

Can you articulate a cogent reason why people need to cross the city on such a thoroughfare just to live their lives?

seanmcdirmid2y ago

You are located in the north of the city and need to get somewhere south of the city, or vice versa.

You only have a few roads to do that east or west of Lake Washington. In most cases, people aren't going to downtown Seattle, downtown Seattle is just in the way.

uoaei2y ago

Why are those services not available in the north of the city? This is as much a planning issue as traffic is.

4 more replies

mitthrowaway22y ago

Because nobody knows how to build a train, it's a mystery.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse